


Catfish

by nintendogs



Category: Of Mice & Men (Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-04
Updated: 2014-12-10
Packaged: 2018-02-19 21:14:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,110
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2403089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nintendogs/pseuds/nintendogs
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alan Ashby has been talking to Alex Carter, a guy he met online on Facebook. Alex is everything Alan loves in a guy; sweet, smart, funny, caring, and handsome.</p><p>Alan definitely believes that he's in love with Alex. The problem is that he and Alex have never met. Alan has tried to get him and Alex to meet, yet Alex always avoids Alan's attempts.</p><p>Maybe Alex isn't who he say he is.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. I've Fallen For a Rockstar!!! Please help

Max Joseph and Nev Schulman were in a hotel, going through all the emails that were sent by hundreds of people who wanted their help to meet people they were either communicating or had fallen in love with on the Internet. So many emails, yet half of them didn't seem as fascinating to them as the previous ones they have read before. Until one email caught their attention.

  
 **Subject: I've Fallen For a Rockstar!!! Please help!**  
  
"Let's read this one, it seems interesting," Max said, pointing to it.  
  
As Nev clicked it, he couldn't help but wonder if this person had fallen for someone famous or what.  
  
 _Dear Nev and Max,_  
  


_Hi, my name is Alan Ashby. I'm 22 years old, bisexual, in college, and in love with Alex Carter, who is 24 and is in a band. I've seen your show and "Catfish: The Movie" and I am desperately hoping you could help me meet Alex._

We met on Facebook 2 years ago. He isn't famous (yet), but I have been dying to meet him. Every time I ask if he wants to meet up, he's always giving me some lame excuse on why he can't. It's either, "Sorry, busy with work", "Can't, busy with band practice all week", or "Not feeling well, sorry."

It's been 2 years already. To be honest, I think I'm in love with Alex. He's been helping me with my anxiety, depression, and when school gets frustrating. He has always been there for me when I needed it the most. I've always been there for him as well when his ex-wife cheated on him and helped him though the whole divorce.

So please, help me finally meet my savior, my true love, my knight in shining armor...my rockstar.

__  
  


_-Alan_

  
  
"Wow," was all Nev could say. Max asked what he meant by that as he reread the message again. "I mean, this guy is in love with someone who will potentially become a famous singer and won't be able to see him. The fact that this Alex guy is making up excuses on why he can't see him makes me very suspicious."  
  
"Let's Skype Alan," Max suggested.  
  
"Why do you look annoyed?"  
  
"I feel like this is gonna be an emo person or something."  
  
"Don't except something you don't know," Nev said, as he finally saw Alan appear on the screen of his laptop.  
  
What Max thought was wrong. He wasn't what he expected  _at all_. Max thought Alan would have raven black hair, have a bunch of piercings on his face, wear black eyeliner, and be pale as Hell. Nope, he didn't wear makeup, he had a natural looking face. He wasn't as white as snow, he was a little tan and had freakles. He didn't have piercings all over his face, he only had a nose ring on his right nostril. And he _definitely_  didn't have jet black hair, he had flaming red hair.  
  
"Hey guys!" Alan said, smiling at the two.  
  
"Hey Alan!" They said in unison.  
  
"We're definitely interested in your story, man. So tell us more about Alex," Nev said.  
  
"Well Alex is basically the definition of perfection. He means the whole world to me. I don't love him just because he's in a band, I love him because he's himself. He doesn't care what everyone thinks of him. He keeps me sane. I just wish we could actually meet up, you know?"  
  
"Have you guys ever video chatted?"  
  
"No, he always tells me that he doesn't have time. I don't understand why he tells me that when he clearly has the time to text or call me."  
  
"True," Max agreed.  
  
"Well we clearly are interested in your story, so we're gonna come fly and meet you!"  
  
"Awesome! I can't wait. Bye guys!"  
  
"Bye Alan!"  
  
Who was this "Alex Carter"? What was he hiding? What could be so wrong with him that he refused to see Alan face to face. Nev and Max were going to get to the bottom of this for sure.  
  
Off to California for another catfish research.


	2. "How much does a polar bear weigh? Enough to break the ice!"

Austin Carlile has always doubted himself. He didn't like how he was awkwardly lanky. He always had to wear jeans for girls due to how thin his legs were; yet they were still baggy on him like the rest of his clothing. He didn't like how he was too tall for his liking. Everytime he would talk to someone, they either had to look up or he'd have to look down. He didn't like how he looked. The way his brown hair would sometimes cover his left eye. Even if he got his hair cut shorter, he would still feel displeased about himself or the tattoos on his body (except the heart tattoo on his left arm).  
  
So that's why he had a mask. Well, a virtual mask technically. In reality, he was shy Austin Carlile. The boy who wouldn't dare to speak to no more than three people. The boy who was like a lost adorable puppy most of the time. But in the online world, he was confident Alex Carter. The guy that could do whatever he pleased. Alex was the exact opposite of Austin. Alex was confident, a charmer, someone who wasn't afraid of everyone's opinion. He looked like someone everyone wanted to be seen with; someone guys wanted to be. And Austin was well...Austin.  
  
His friends know nothing about his double life. They don't know about how he had managed to make friends online (who weren't exactly his friends). They especially don't know about the guy he had been talking to non-stop for the past two years. His name was Alan Ashby and he was the most amazing person who has ever walked the planet in Austin's eyes.  
  
He remembered when he first talked to Alan online. Austin-well...technically Alex-messaged him, simply saying hi. Or well it went like this:  
  
 **To Alan Ashby:**   _Hey, how much does a polar bear weigh?_  
  
 **From Alan Ashby:**   _what??_  
  
 **To Alan Ashby:**   _Enough to break the ice! Nah, I'm kidding, my name is Alex. :)_  
  
From there, they had become friends. As they talked to each other more and more after that message, they became best friends. Although Austin loved his friendship with Alan, he wanted something more. He wanted an actual relationship with him. A relationship where he can hold his hand and lace his long, thin fingers with Alan's small and delicate fingers. He wanted to cuddle with Alan on rainy days. He wanted to press his chapped lips aganist Alan's pink, soft looking ones. To take him on dates and watch the sun set on warm Summer days.  
  
The problem for Austin was that couldn't do all those things with Alan. That means he would have to meet him in person, meaning that he'll actually see what he really looks like. Austin worries if once Alan sees the real him, he would leave just like everyone else had.  
  
So whenever Alan had asked to meet up with him or to Skype him, he had to make up some silly excuse on why he couldn't. Some were actually true, like band practice. With him focusing on his music career, he didn't have time to actually meet Alan.  
  
Currently, Austin was watching TV, as well as texting Alan as usual. The show he was previously watching had ended, so he decided to watch something on MTV. He felt goosebumps as it was showing Catfish on the screen. Don't get him wrong, he likes the show, but he worried if Alan would one day reach out to Nev and Max.  
  
Speaking of Alan, he felt his phone vibrate on his upper thigh.  
  
 **From: Ginger Princess**  
 _what are you doin right now?_  
  
 **Just watching Catfish, you?**  
  
 **From: Ginger Princess**  
 _nothing._  
  
As Austin watched the TV, he had a weird feeling in his gut. He wasn't aware that Alan was indeed doing something. He didn't have to watch Catfish right now because he's already in it.  
  
If only Austin knew how much shit he's in right now.


	3. "The dude is head over heels for him."

Alan heard a knock on the door as he was refilling the water bowl for his cat, Sophie. Excitement was built up inside him as he opened the door. In front of him were Nev, Max, and the _MTV_ crew. He welcomed them, leading them to he and his roommate, Justin's living room.  
  
"So Alan," Nev started off as he sat across from Alan on the couch. "Tell us more about Alex."  
  
"What do you wanna know?" he asked, smiling at the mention of Alex's name.  
  
Nev and Max smiled back, obviously knowing that Alan is head over heels for this guy.  
  
"Like how'd you meet and all," said Max, pointing the camera directly at the ginger.  
  
"Like I said, we met on Facebook two years ago. He messaged me because he told me that he noticed all of my statuses and the posts I shared from pages. They were always depressing things and all. One day, he messaged me, "How much does a polar bear weigh?"," he explained, chuckling at the memory. "From there, we just clicked instantly. He's been there for me _so_ much. He's basically my rock; he keeps me sane and makes sure all these negative and depressing thoughts are gone."  
  
"Wow, he must really mean something to you," Nev said.  
  
"He's my whole world."  


 

\--

  
  
Austin was watching yet another episode of Catfish. The thought of meeting your true love in person has always fascinated Austin whenever he watched the show. Sometimes, he'd daydream about meeting Alan and if they would be together forever. He would never admit out loud, but he sees a future with him even if he hasn't met the guy in person yet. He just cares about him _so_ much and he would never hurt him physically and emotionally.  
  
But how could he love Alan if he has yet to meet him?  
  
See, that was the problem. As much as he wanted to have Alan in his arms, he couldn't for two reasons; One, he lives miles away from him and two, Alan knew him as cool and confident "Alex Carter," not awkwardly tall and lanky Austin Carlile.  
  
See the problem here?  
  
But he was at least happy that he has Alan in his life. Even if he will _never_ meet him.  
  
At least...that's what Austin thinks.  


 

\--

  
  
Alan was logging on his Facebook, his laptop in front of him with Nev sitting by his left and Max by his right in his living room. Once he logged in, he didn't need to look up his name since Alex had sent him a message.  
  
 **Alex Carter:** _Hey! What's up? :)_  
  
"That's him?" asked Nev.  
  
"Yeah, that's the one," Alan said, typing that he wasn't doing much although he sure as hell was doing _something_.  
  
"Can we see a picture?"  
  
Alan nodded, clicking Alex's name. He clicked his profile picture, smiling at that man's smile. Alex had caramel brown hair with honey colored eyes. He had an adorable smile with small dimples that made his smile even _more_ adorable. In his profile picture, he was wearing a grey beanie, a blue and black checkered flannel with a white shirt. He was showing off his perfect white teeth, smiling.  
  
"That's Alex," Alan said, looking down at his lap.  
  
"I can see why you like him," mumbled Max under his breath.  


 

\--

  
  
The three males were talking about Alex. More details about how he and Alan started talking and about the excuses he says when it came to the topic of video chatting and meeting up. Then Max had brought up the topic about Alex and his band.  
  
"So you told us Alex is in a band? Tell us more about it."  
  
Alan sat up from his seat on the couch. He sighed, a slight frown on his face. "I honestly don't know much about his band even though he talks about how much fun practice is and when he's writing a song and all. He says he has some songs on the Internet, but I never checked them out yet. He told me not to though cause apparently, he doesn't want me to listen how they sound. I don't know, he confuses me when it comes to his band."  
  
"It sounds to me like he's hiding something," Nev pointed out. "What's his band's name?"  
  
"Of Mice and Men."  
  
"Hey Alan!" said a ginger out of nowhere. "Holy shit, you're Nev and Max from Catfish!"  
  
"This is my best friend and roommate, Justin," Alan said, getting up and putting an arm around his shoulder with a smile.  
  
"Are they here for Alex?" Justin asked, putting down the bag of groceries he was carrying.  
  
"You know about Alex?" Max questioned, pointing the camera at him.  
  
The ginger chuckled, sitting down and getting comfortable on the couch next to his best friend. "Alan here won't shut up about him!" He laughed as he saw the blush on the other ginger's face appear. "He talks about Alex non-stop. It's always "Alex this, Alex that" all the damn time," he explained.  
  
"Thoughts about Alex and Alan?" Nev asked.  
  
Justin smiled, looking at Alan and patting his shoulder. "The dude is head over heels for him."


	4. “Alex? Oh, yeah, I know him."

Now it was time for the investigating part for Nev and Max. After meeting Justin and Alan showing the two men Alex's Facebook profile, they said their goodbyes and left to do more Catfish research.  
  
Once they entered a nearby Starbucks by Alan's house and greeted the few Catfish fans, they took a seat by the huge window. As Nev logged on his Facebook account, Max was holding his camera directly at his friend, waiting until filming officially started. Minutes later, Max got the 'okay' and was officially ready to film and to begin the investigating.  
  
Looking up **Alex Carter** , Nev clicked on the familiar profile picture. As he was positive that it was the Facebook profile he saw just the previous day, he scrolled down the profile in hopes that he'll find _something_ that can help him and Max to find out the mystery of Alex Carter.  
  
“Look at this post," Max said, pointing to it as he made sure that his camera captured the moment.  
  
 **John O'Callaghan:** _hey. i had a lot of fun last night!_  
  
“Maybe we should message him just to see if we can get something out of him," suggested Nev.  
  
 _Hi, my name is Nev and I have a show called **Catfish: The TV Show**. I don't know if you ever heard of it but I was wondering if you knew anything about Alex Carter. Please message me back if you know anything or for some information._  
  
“Now all we do is wait," he said.  
  


\--

  
  
After about half an hour later, Nev got a message back.  
  
 **John O'Callaghan:** _um yeah i'd be happy to help you guys out. you can skype me: john-ohh_  
  
Few seconds later, they saw John on the laptop screen.  
  
 _“Holy shit, I'm really on Catfish. That's pretty fucking rad, man."_  
  
The two men laughed, smiling at John. “Okay, so Nev and I were wondering if you actually know Alex."  
  
 _“Alex? Oh yeah, I know him,"_ John said with a smile. _“Alex Gaskarth is a pretty cool dude. Really nice and funny."_  
  
“Gaskarth? No, we meant Carter. The one you posted a comment on his wall," Nev said, raising an eyebrow. And who was Alex Gaskarth?  
  
 _“Ah, right. Well I know Alex Gaskarth person. When I first made a Facebook, I added the wrong Alex since the profile picture was my friend plus I forgot what his last name was. It took me awhile to figure it out that someone was faking him cause I mentioned something about what Alex and I have done, but supposedly he didn't remember. Then I asked him if he could text me, which he never did. So that's why I posted something on his wall, to confirm my suspicions. Like I know Alex and he would always reply to whatever but this Alex Carter never did to me. I mentioned Jack, who's Alex's boyfriend, and he told me that he didn't know who he was and that he liked this guy named Alan or something."_  
  
“Alan! Yeah, we know him. That's actually the whole reason why we're here," Nev said, knowing he and Max are getting closer to finding his fake.  
  
 _“If you want, I'll tell Alex to message you if that helps."_  
  
“Yeah, totally. Thanks for all your help, John."  
  
 _“No problem guys. It was nice chatting with you two, bye!"_  
  
"Bye!"  
  
Twenty minutes later, they got a video call from Alex. Obviously, they answered the call. _“Hi, my friend John said someone was faking me."_  
  
“Hi and yeah, we wanted to know if you had any idea of who it could be or what you would know."  
  
Alex ran his fingers through his hair, sighing. _“That's tough since I'm aware that some people out there do actually fake me cause of my looks. But my boyfriend, Jack, said maybe it's one of my friends because they mentioned some guy named Alan. Hopefully that helps. You can just go to my Facebook and look up either “Shayley Bourget" or “Shayco Bourget", it's either one of those two. Cause Shay knows everything and he can help."_  
  
“That really helps a lot actually, thank you."  
  


-=-

  
  
The two investigators looked up the two names on Alex's friend list on Facebook. And fortunately, they found a “Shayco Dayshell Bourget" or Shay as Alex said. Nev had messaged him, in hopes that this Shay did know something, considering the fact Alex mentioned how he knew everything and could possibly help them for their search on who really was Alex Carter.  
  
 **Shayco Dayshell Bourget:** Hey, so you wanted some help?  
  
 **Nev Schulman:** Yes, a friend of yours, Alex Gaskarth, said you knew something about the mentioning of Alan Ashby. We, meaning Max and I, wanted to know if you actually did and could help us. Alan wanted our help to meet an Alex Carter.  
  
 **Shayco Dayshell Bourget:** Hmm, Alex Carter. That name actually sounds really familiar. Three of my friends brought up the name Alan Ashby but I can't exactly remember who talks about him more. I can give you the names but I don't know if that helps.  
  
 **Nev Schulman:** Yeah, that would really help!  
  
 **Shayco Dayshell Bourget:** Ok, so the names are Kellin Quinn, Aaron Pauley, and Austin Carlile.  
  
 **Nev Schulman:** Thanks for all your help!  
  
 **Shayco Dayshell Bourget:** No problem. Good luck.  
  
“Max."  
  
“Hm?"  
  
“I think we're getting closer to finding out who Alex really is."


End file.
